Woman Crush Wednesday – Sera of Heven

Hello and welcome to Comic Plug’s Woman Crush Wednesday (WCW) – a weekly series that shines a light on female series, characters, and writers. This week we are crushing on Sera, Angela the Asgardian Angel’s best friend and paramour. Or, as Sera puts it, “The Gabrielle to her Xena, except we make out more.”

But first, some background. In Heven, where Sera was born, and Angela was raised, only one in every 100 births produce a male baby. These male children are called Anchorites and are kept in temples. They are raised to be a kind of priest and all of their time is spent in prayer. Sera was born an Anchorite and hated everything about her life. One day Angela goes to a temple to kill a monster, as she is wont to do, and Sera runs to her aid. As repayment for Sera’s help, Angela sneaks Sera out of the temple and then they begin their life of adventure.

The first, and probably most obvious aspect that stands out to me is the gender role reversals in Sera’s world. Male angels are born to a life of study and prayer. Female angels are considered warriors and spend their time training to kill. Sera knew as she ran out to assist Angela that “it was not a man’s place to fight”. Thus far in the series this is the only gender role reversal I have come across, but the amount of ass-kicking that is doled out by women is certainly inspiring.

What I admire most about this series, and Sera, is the representation of LGBTQIAP+ people and relationships. Sera was born male, but had known all along that her place was not with the Anchorites. Once she left her looks become more feminine and she fights alongside Angela as a lady angel should. There is never a big discussion of Sera being transgender or genderqueer, or some kind of reveal. She’s just her funny, sarcastic, lute-playing self.

Likewise, there is no big to-do about the intimate relationship between Angela and Sera. I appreciate that the scenes depicting their relationship are not used in an attempt to shock or entice the reader, but are a legitimate part of the overall story. The series did not become The Lesbians: Angela and Sera. It continued on as an epic adventure and love story.

What did you think about our WCW this week? Who or what would you like to see featured? Let me know in the comments below!